Return

Hey guys! I have returned from Appalachia!... With a slight West Virginian accent!

There's so much that I wanna write right now, but if I wrote everything that I wanted to, this journal would be a freakin' five-page essay... In any case, I'll try to fit in as much as possible without boring you out of your minds. 8D

Sandy

The week went great! Our site was originally with a woman named Sandy. We were supposed to replace her floor and stuff, but that was all done last year. On top of that, she's selling her trailer, so we made it look pretty to help her fetch a better price.

My partner and I spent about three hours painting a hallway that couldn't have been more than 2.5 feet wide. It was ridiculous how small it was... and how many fumes we inhaled!

The Next Site

After helping Sandy, we went to help another site that had a crap-load of stuff to do. Our site was stationed at the front of the house to fix their porch. These people hadn't been able to walk on it for 10 years because it was so rotten. We ripped up the porch to start. Demolition is the best part! I took a sledgehammer to the walls!

Damon

On our second site, there was a four-year-old boy named Damon. To ~otakubox25, ~theOtakuAlchemist and ~TwoFishCat, the name is pronounced DAY-mehn, not DAmon as I had been saying it previously.

Anyway, this kid was the cutest freaking thing I've ever met! He carried a butterknife and a pistol in his pockets everywhere he went, and he was always hauling around his case of plastic tools that he used to help us, namely by holding measuring tape and hammering screws. And the funniest thing about him was that he was the only person that I met in Appalachia that had an accent!

Favorite Quotes!

So if you see someone doing something unchristian, just give 'em the finger...fingers, FINGERS! Count 'em: one, two! -Gary, our youth minister

Karl is between worlds... and he has never been kissed back to life by a horse. -Father Mark

[On Tuesday] a woman in Texas was arrested for selling tiger cubs in a Wal*Mart parking lot. -radio

Y'know, it's kinda unchrist-like to rip people's faces off... -Master Elena

Natalie, get that Jesus finger out of my face now!

Y'know how you've been riding Adam for "stealing your seat in the car?" Well now he's done the harder part and got out of the car so you can have your seat back. And you have no idea what the frick he's talking about! -Master Elena ...What can I say? I was tired...

I got hit in the face with a crowbar today... and I did it to myself... -some girl in my cabin

Just wait til them pigs see the fire shootin' outta their mouths! -Damon

I don't gotta worry about nothin'... cuz I got my guns in the house! -Damon ...He was not kidding...

This here porch needs fixed. You breathe on this thing wrong and it's gonna fall! -Damon ...Once again, not kidding.

The kids gave us entertainment for the week... they liked to take off their clothes and run around...

We also discovered that two Shanes equal one length of siding. No, seriously; we stopped using measuring tape and just used Shane!

Look at that Gary! That whole table just gave you the fingers!

Consider

Appalachia's a great time, gives 40 hours of community service and is just a wonderful experience, so if you ever get the opportunity, please consider going.

The people there are poor in materials but so very rich in heart and spirit. They have so little, but they're so happy. And they're always looking for a helping hand.